Klinsmann suing daily over crucifixion cover

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Bayern Munich coach Jürgen Klinsmann is taking legal action against a German daily after it printed an image of him being crucified on the front page of its Easter edition, the paper said on Tuesday.

Die Tageszeitung said it had received a letter from Klinsmann's lawyer saying the embattled coach felt his human dignity “deeply and massively” violated by the picture, modelled on Monty Python's “Life of Brian.”

Bayern spokesman Markus Hörwick said the picture of the “crucified” Klinsmann under the headline “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” was “perhaps the worst gaffe ever made by the German media.”

Klinsmann's lawyer said the damages could amount to €100,000 ($132,000) if the case went to court.

For its part, the paper said it was “relaxed” about the legal action. Pressure has been mounting on Klinsmann following disastrous results both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League.

On April 4, Bayern were humiliated 5-1 by Bundesliga front-runners Wolfsburg before suffering what club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge called a football “lesson” during a 4-0 drubbing by Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final. The team relieved some of the pressure on their coach with a 4-0 win at home against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend, but the German giants stand second in the Bundesliga, ahead of Hamburg on goal difference.

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As for the Champions League, Bayern host Barcelona in the second leg on Tuesday needing an extraordinary turnaround to progress to the semi-finals.